Roundup: Daly challenges Monty's lead

Scot forges 69 to stay on top in American Express

SAN FRANCISCO - Colin Montgomerie and John Daly would seem to have little in common except for their names atop the leader board at the American Express Championship.

Montgomerie plots his way around the golf course, and while Friday's round was a battle with jet lag, he scrambled well enough for a 1-under 69 at Harding Park that left him one shot clear of Daly and David Howell of England, with Tiger Woods and five others another shot behind.

Montgomerie and Daly will be in the final group today of this World Golf Championship, along with Howell, connected not only by their tee time but by a desire to bounce back from tough times.

"Both of us have had plenty of divorces, so we can always talk about that," Daly cracked after his second 67. "I've had a lot more than he has."

The reference was to Montgomerie going through a public divorce last year that contributed to a plunge in the world rankings, all the way down to No. 83 for a proud Scot who for years was the elite among Europeans.

Daly has gone three divorces.

"I've been through it a lot, and I know what he went through," Daly said. "It's great to see him come back. I'm sure he would love to get a win on U.S. soil. My hat's off to him."

Montgomerie was four shots worse Friday than his opening round, and he turned a big mess into a little one on the 18th by making a 4-footer for bogey that put him at 7-under 133.

In other tournaments

•
Coe-Jones up by 2
—
Dawn Coe-Jones
, who hasn't won on the LPGA Tour since 1995, shot a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead over seven players after two rounds of the

Longs Drugs Challenge
in Auburn, Calif.
Cristie Kerr
, who led by four strokes after an opening 62, had a second-round 75 that included a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 485-yard 15th, and was four strokes behind the leader.

• Rain plagues Greater Hickory — Doug Tewell was one of nine players to complete the first round of the rain-delayed Greater Hickory Classic in Concord, N.C., and his 2-under 70 got him the clubhouse lead.